Of Bullets and Shot Hearts
by Rachel L. M
Summary: People should always be there for the ones they love and Ed learns this the hard way. Rated M for language and a tiny bit of violence. Co-written with Tenchi Kai.
1. Bang

Disclaimer: We don't own anything.

A/N: Another co-written with Tenchi Kai :)

Chapter 1: Bang

_Bang_

There was no way Edward was going to get there in time; he knew that, and cursed himself for it. By the time he heard the gun shot and turned around (he did so as fast as his reflexes would let him), there was already blood seeping though Roy's uniform. Ed looked on with a horrified expression, as if doing so would will away the blood.

Roy fell to the ground in the next few seconds, and Ed couldn't run fast enough. He just wasn't fast enough. By the time he was kneeling at Roy's side, the man was breathing hard and holding a hand to his chest, right by his heart. Ed didn't know what to do. He'd dealt with worse injuries and known exactly what to do. Why was he freezing up now? Oh god, Roy was going to die and he didn't know what to do.

The only thing he could think was _find help._ He needed to get Roy to someone who could actually do something for him. Carefully, he slid an arm under Roy's back and slid Roy's left arm over his shoulders. Quietly he asked Roy "Can you make it?" The man just barely nodded his head.

Shivers down the spine, but this was no time to be scared.

Ed did his best to carry Roy to the makeshift hospital that was created a little ways from the battleground. Roy needed to make it, Roy needed to stay alive. If he doesn't, who was going to lead? Ed wasn't the one for the job. No.

"Heh, it hit my heart, didn't it?" Roy said softly. Ed shook his head no, not because Roy was wrong, but because it didn't matter. The bullet wasn't going to be there for long, and Roy would be fine…at least, that's what Ed told himself.

As he reached the encampment he saw the long line forming outside the 'hospital'. They had been in battle for two days straight and quite obviously, Roy was not the only one hurt. But he _was_ the only one Ed cared about at the moment. "Move! Everyone move!" He yelled trying to get through the line as quickly as he could.

One injured soldier stopped him with a hand on Ed's chest. "What the hell gives you the right?" The man asked angrily.

Ed frowned "This is your General, you idiot. Now get the fuck out of my way." He growled at the other soldier, who moved aside immediately upon recognizing Mustang. Roy smiled a little to himself despite the pain. "Thanks, Ed." He managed.

"No big deal, Roy." Ed said softly, right before he saw a doctor – finally – looking at someone who appeared to have a broken leg.

"Doctor, he's lost a lot of blood!" Ed shouted, successfully grabbing the doctor's attention.

"Shit!" The doctor had shouted, going from a look of indifference to shock when he recognized just who it was missing the blood. It only took a matter minutes – maybe not even that long, Ed was having trouble keeping up with time passing at the moment - before Roy was seen to.

For Roy, the next few hours passed by like seconds. For Ed, it felt like years. The doctors that weren't busy with severe cases had come to look at Roy, all of them. Ed watched their faces, and he knew it didn't look good. It only took an hour – because now Ed was keeping his eye on his pocket watch – before they said they were giving him blood, and they would try and transfer Roy to central. Ed heard one of the doctors talking about how it was a tragedy. He had no idea.

He pulled aside one of the doctors who was walking away. "Hey, you're transporting him to Central, right?"

"We need to save some of the blood here for other soldiers and he needs a doctor who can administer to him around the clock."

"Is…is he that bad off? He's going to be okay, right?" Ed asked, horrified at the thought of losing Roy.

The doctor tried to smile at him, but there wasn't much to smile about. "The bullet hit very close to his heart." The doctor paused for a minute "There's a good chance he won't make it. I'm so sorry." He placed a quick hand on Ed's shoulder, then turned and walked away. Ed shouted after him "He's going to be fine! You'll see!" Ed did it more to reassure himself. It didn't work.

Well, if Roy was being transferred to Central, Ed had to go with him, and that was the final word on the matter; at least Ed could see Al this way, too.


	2. Happy Thoughts

A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed Chapter One. Your kindness is much appreciated.

Chapter 2: Happy Thoughts

They reached Central Hospital in the middle of the night. Roy had slept the whole trip, and naturally Edward had done the exact opposite, staying wide awake with worry, even when he was dead tired.

Hughes had met them at the hospital, being Roy's medical proxy. He too, was overwhelmed with worry for his friend. "Is he doing better Ed?"

Ed felt horrible being able to do little more than shrug his shoulders. They hadn't let him stay in the same train car as the General and he had heard little of his condition, figuring not much had changed. Hughes smiled down at the boy, placing a reassuring hand on Ed's shoulder. "He'll be okay, Ed. He really will."

Ed knew that Hughes was just trying to cheer him up, and he should at least act like his kind words were helping. "I hope so."

Ed thought about staying with Roy, but he wasn't sure how Roy would react to that. He…would just have to go home for now; besides, they weren't letting anyone into the ICU where Roy was for another hour or two anyway.

_Happy thoughts_, Ed murmured to himself on the way to his (now Al's) apartment just a few blocks away from the hospital.

Al was, naturally, surprised to see his older brother; after all, Ed had been on the front lines in a revolt for two months, and wasn't supposed to be allowed home for another four. Ed told Al the story, and the younger of the two was quite worried. To him, it seems like Ed was blaming himself.

"You're not superhuman. How could you have gotten there in time?" Al spoke to Ed, sitting on an old warn out coach next to him.

"He always got there in time to help me…how could I not have helped him?" Ed turned to Al, a very tired look in his eyes.

"Brother, this isn't your fault. You couldn't stop the bullet even if you had gotten there in time."

"I might have been able to…" He said, walking off to his room and closing the door. He thought again of maybe going to see Roy. The man probably had no one with him. As he thought about it more he realized, maybe Roy didn't necessarily need him, but he needed Roy. Maybe he'd head over there after he slept a while. Roy was probably doing the same right now anyway.

_"Ed, I'm sorry. I can't believe she'd hide something like this from you."_

_A small boy with disorderly blonde hair and golden eyes looked down at the grass, tears in his eyes. "You know, Al, I bet Mom hated hospitals."_

Ed woke up and realized that his eyes were leaking tears. He sighed, sitting up in bed and looking out the window. That wasn't going to work out; he was too tired, too weak to handle someone else leaving him behind. "I was so stupid…," he laughed at himself, shaking his head, and then putting his face in his hands. "But I'm older now."

"Brother," a yawn was heard from to doorway, "what are you talking about?"

"I'm gonna go see Roy."

"Right now? It's late, let me go with you." Al said, always concerned for his brother.

Ed shook his head. "No, Al. Please, I need to see him on my own." He smiled as the worried look on his brother's face didn't go away. "I'll be safe, I promise."

Being sure to lock the door behind him, he headed down the street, toward Central Hospital. God, he hated hospitals. He tried to convince himself that it was the sick people and the awful color they always painted the hallways, but despite that he knew it was the way they _always_ smelled like death. But he needed to bet there when Roy woke up, and somehow, he felt he owed the General an apology.

He walked a little faster, thinking about everything he wanted to say. It was painful, thinking about that nightmare about Trisha. It put him in his place, Ed decided, because he was learning he needed to be there...it didn't matter if Roy liked it or not. He opened the door and walked over to the counter. The woman sitting behind it was tired and worn out looking. "You're here to see?"

"Oh, Roy Mustang."

The woman checked her clipboard. "Mr. Mustang is still in the ICU. You'll have to wait a little while." She pointed across to the waiting room. "You can take a seat. I'll let you know when you can see him." Ed flashed a quick smile and took a seat.


	3. Goodbye?

When Ed was finally allowed into Roy's room – and it felt like it took hours, but he left that dang watch at the apartment, so it could have been minutes - Ed walked in slowly, making sure that if Roy was asleep he wouldn't wake him. And, as Ed walked in further into the room, he could have sworn Roy was asleep…

But he eyes were wide awake, and there was even a small smile on his face.

"Hey, Ed. I wonder, do you remember Hughes?"

"How did you know it was me?"

"That's a dumb question. Metal legs make an extra 'clank' when they hit the floor."

"Yeah, I remember the Lt. Colonel, why?" Ed asked pulling up a chair to sit next to the bed. He cautiously reached a hand forward to rest a hand on Roy's arm. Hughes was always a hard subject for the General to discuss, and Ed figured in his current state, the man could use a little comfort.

Roy's smile became just a touch weaker. "Ed," Roy turned to face Ed. "Don't you think it's ironic? This is how he died."

Ed eyes went wide. He knew what Roy was trying to say; the words hidden behind the words were 'it's completely ironic that we're going to die the same way'. The hand on Roy's arm grabbed tighter, and the words that came next were spoken harshly. "So, that is it, then?"

"You were always too smart for your own good."

"And you're too stubborn to just give up on life!" Ed shouted, frantic.

Roy frowned. "You think I want to die, Ed? You think I want to leave behind all the people who care about me and I love?"

"It sure doesn't seem like you're trying to stop it!" Ed yelled at Roy, now pulling his hand back, but the older man caught his wrist. "Look at me Ed, this is how I _wanted _to die, fighting for my country. I'm a soldier, you idiot."

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard, Roy." Ed was now looking at him, and he wasn't lying. Ed just shook his head, "I thought you didn't sell your soul to the state."

"And that's the stupidest thing I've heard. You act like I can pick to live or die." Roy's speech was getting weaker now, softer somehow. However, the power behind that glare was never lacking.

Ed opened his mouth to say something, and then realized that Roy was right. He suddenly felt very out of place. Why should he be the one to know? He was no closer to Roy than any of the man's other friends…right? He quickly turned and left the room, but not before he heard Roy's weak "I'm sorry you know." He hesitated just outside the door, but anger quickly regained control of him and he stormed out of the hospital.

He had a hard time deciding whether he was mad at Roy for just giving up so easily when he was such a strong person; or if it was at himself for walking out on his dying General. Either way, Ed was pissed.

Hours passed, and Ed didn't sleep. If he went to sleep, he would have nightmares.

Ed paced at seven in the morning, which wasn't normal for him. He was trying the keep the anger going. He couldn't – wouldn't – let the damn depression set in. He kept telling himself that Roy was fine, and he wouldn't change his mind.

"Ed, want some coffee? How was the visit with the General?" Al gave a soft smile at his older brother, bed head and all.

"No, no thanks…"

Al blinked at this brother. "How was the visit, brother?"

"He's going to die, Al."

And that's when the numbness faded, and Ed began to cry. He cried for the one person he said he'd never cared a thing for. He cried because he would never see him smile again, or even smirk. He cried because…because he would miss Roy like hell.

Ed wasn't sure when, be he ended up talking to Al about everything, even though the tears. Eventually, he fell asleep. Part of him hoped he would wake up in the waiting room.

He didn't, he woke up in his apartment with his blonde head resting on Al's lap, the latter looking as if he had fallen asleep himself. Edward gently rose and immediately felt a headache battling to gain control in his sleep fogged head. The dream or rather nightmare he had had came flooding back to him.

_He was at his mother's side as she lay in her bed. She was dying and the older Ed knew there was nothing he could do to stop it, but back then, to Ed in his small still naïve mind, there was no such thing as dying. He heard someone laughing outside and ran out of the house hoping to find Al._

Ed frowned, and knew there was something he had to do, or he would regret it the rest of his life: he never got to tell his Mother goodbye, and he wasn't making this mistake again…


End file.
